How To Become A Photographer Part III: Income Strategy & How To Make Money As A Photographer

At this point, you have likely already read Part I: The Ultimate Checklist to Get You Started and Part II: Classes to Take for Photography of this how to become a photographer series and are ready for Part III: developing an income strategy and how to make money as a photographer.

So let’s take a look at different types of photography, what making an income in these type of work could look like, and how to make money as a photographer!

A. Income Strategy & how to price yourself

Photography pricing is quite the hot topic.

Like in any industry, what you can charge is determined by the supply and demand. But photography is also an art, so there is the subjectivity of the “creative” fee to take into consideration as well.

Take this example of a logo designer. You can find someone to design you a logo for $20 on Fiverr. You can also, go into Canva and come up with something yourself. But if you hire a designer, or go into an agency, you could be paying anywhere from $400 and up. So what’s the difference? sometimes nothing, sometimes everything… It all depends on what’s at stake.

So if your logo isn’t going to change how you run the business, and it likely isn’t going to be seen by millions, maybe a simple cheap logo is enough.

But what if you are Nike? Or Apple? or Coca Cola? Your logo has a really high value because it will go on every single product you create and every piece of marketing possible. In other words, the logo is part of the brand identity. (If you are curious about logo pricing, do a quick google search, and find out things like how the Coca-Cola logo cost them $0 while Pepsi paid $1,000,000).

With photography, it is the same.

You are mainly worth what your client is willing to pay for you, but to figure out what that number is, you will need to some competitor research, a bit of trial and error, and most importantly an overhead/operating cost analysis.

That’s where your income strategy comes in.

It’s pretty simple if you think about it. Whether you want to freelance full time or your photography is a side gig, you have to take into consideration what it costs you to operate the business (in overhead, equipment, insurance, etc, but also in time and effort) and add onto that your creative cost.

Once you know what your cost is, and you can think of it on a monthly or yearly basis (using your equipment cost in percentages), you can figure out how many shoots you need to do to cover that cost and make some profit, and then measure your success by seeing if you can book the number of shoots you need.

When I quit my last full-time job 8 years ago, I had enough money saved up to last me about six months, if I didn’t get any freelance work. I gave myself that deadline to give it a try. I knew I wanted to make at least the same as I was making at my last job (which wasn’t much, to be honest) but knew I had a bottom cost, that as long as I made that, I could survive. Needless to say, I never looked back. I was able to make enough to replace my full-time job, pretty much within two months of quitting, and I always kept that six months back up money in case some months were slower than others… If you are interested in diving deeper into pricing, charging, and the financials of freelancing, drop me a comment and let me know…I can talk about this and how to make money as a photographer for ages!

So, let’s get back to your strategy. You have figured out how many shoots/how much money you need to make every month. Great. Now the trick is, how do you find photography jobs? Keep on reading for some insight and ideas on how to make money as a photographer.

B. Find your Niche: How developing your own style will get you more work

Although it can be tempting to be an “everything” photographer, just to make sure you are available for the most amount of jobs possible, finding a niche is actually a great idea. Finding a type of photography you love to work on, and you are good at will ensure you keep honing in your skills on that particular niche, and will keep getting better and better. You also have greater chances of getting hired if you focus on something.

Think about it this way, if you are getting married and are looking for a photographer, would you hire someone who shoots newborns and product, or would you rather hire someone who’s portfolio is focused on weddings? Even more importantly: wouldn’t you want to hire someone who’s portfolio has a consistent look and feel, and matches your expectations?

By picking a niche, and sticking to a style that is characteristically yours, you are sending a very clear message to your potential clients: This is what I am good at, and why I am worth it!

Now this is not to say you can’t take jobs that are offered to you, especially when you are starting out. I remember my first year of freelancing, and I literally took any job that required me behind a camera, even if I didn’t have much experience, or I didn’t particularly enjoy the work, because when you are starting out, the most important thing is to keep your business afloat!

So what do you do?

YOU CURATE.

That’s right. Not because you shoot everything you have to show everything. As you try different types of photography and different niches, you will start getting a feel for what you love and what you are good at, this will naturally progress into more work in that field, and if you are smart about your marketing and how you present your brand, you can eat the cake and have it to: make money shooting whatever comes your way, but slowly start building a portfolio that represents you as the photographer you want to be.

C. Different types of photography & how to make money as a photographer

Think of the world around you (digital, and real!) – everywhere you look there are photos. It is true that with the rise of social media the competition for photographers has gotten pretty wild, but guess what? The need for photography has also grown. Not only every single business needs photos to promote themselves online and offline, people are more and more wanting beautiful images of themselves and their families to keep memories and share. And on top of that, due to the huge volume of imagery around us all day, every day, all the time, most people will not settle for non-professional images, nor be compelled by work that is subpar. So what does this means? This means that there is work for you out there, whether it is working for businesses or consumers, your high-quality images and your personal creative touch have the potential of turning into profit.

As I mentioned above, I think it is really important for you to try out different areas of photography to see what you like the best and then build your business around it, but I understand that if you are just starting out, it might be a bit overwhelming and even confusing to figure out what these niches even are.

Here is a list I put together for you with some types of photography you can build your business on and subsequently how to make money as a photographer.

1. Portrait Photography

To me, portrait photography has the widest variety of options. Within portrait photography, you can even define your own niche and what kind of portrait work you like to do, and what kind of style you apply to it. I would consider myself in part a portrait photographer as I have done a lot of work with businesses and individuals to produce portraits, headshots, and other types of portrait based shoots. With portraiture, you can just start by photographing people, and with time finding the kind of work you like the most, and focus more and more on that. My favorite types of portrait photography are environmental portraits.

2. Fashion Photography

No surprise here, this is a big part of my own career. I love fashion photography because it allows me to work as a portrait photographer and a commercial photographer at the same time. I also love the editorial aspect of fashion. For me, it gives me the most creative possibilities as often you get to work with a team of stylists, make up and hair, models, and production asistants, so I can focus on producing the work we are aiming for.

Although in the last few years with the growth of social media and online shopping platforms, you can be your own creative director and do fashion photography on a small scale too!

If you want to work in fashion photography I suggest you start with trading work, doing photos in exchange for clothes, or even just for experience. Work with small local brands before you try to reach for the bigger corporations. Find out what brands shoot their content in your city, and reach out to them. Build a portfolio that shows what you can do, even if it’s with clothes you already have, and with friends who model for you, and create the work you want to be hired to do.

3. Commercial Photography

Commercial photography can feel a little general and subjective. I personally consider commercial photography anything that is images produced to sell a product, a service, or even an idea. With this in mind, then certain aspects of portrait photography, fashion photography, and well, almost any kind of photography, can all be considered commercial. As a rule of thumb, if your client is using these photos to sell something, then you are a commercial photographer. If the photos are for personal use, decoration, or art, then this wouldn’t be considered commercial.

4. Event Photography

Well there is one thing that no matter where you live you can be sure of: people are getting married, having babies, graduating, retiring, and celebrating it all along the way. So if you’re weighing your options on how to make money as a photographer – this is definitely one to add to your list! Event photography for many, ends up being the most viable way to make a living as a photographer, as not every city has a vibrant commercial, fashion, or event arts scene, but everywhere there are people living, there will be events to photograph.

5. Landscape Photography

Let me just start by saying that landscape photography is not for me. My work is all about feeling, expression, and the humans that transmit it… so you can imagine shooting beautiful nature and wildlife is not my jam. However, I know a lot of photographers who enjoy this.

6. Aerial photography

This is a pretty tight niche, and I believe to make a living (or even just side hustle) only with aerial work, you need to be really good at controlling your drone/aircraft, have certifications that allow you to fly, and be able to do video as well.

The Beauty of drone photography is that it is a quick sell for anyone who can use those kinds of photos, as the demand is higher than the supply: not many photographers own drones and have licenses to operate them.

7. Sports / Action Photography

It is important to note that this kind of photography requires certain specifications in terms of gear. It is very hard to shoot sports or action without a fast camera with high burst settings, a long sharp and fast lens, and pro memory cards that can record RAW images as fast as you are shooting.

What I love about this category, is that if you play your cards right, you get paid for attending events you actually enjoy and want to be at. It’s called a media pass, and it makes you feel like a million bucks!

8. Architecture Photography

A real niche if there ever was one. Architecture photography, as a passion, can be a really fun thing to do if you are a traveler and enjoy cities, and urban areas, but when it comes to profit, the options are a bit limited. If you are willing to dive into interior design and real estate photography, this could be not only quite profitable but quite consistent work.

9. Wildlife Photography

Good luck making money, really… maybe stock photography, but if you want to become a Nat Geo photographer, you better also be an anthropologist, archeologists, or have a side gig, because they like their photographers well versed in many topics. In all seriousness, wildlife photography is another one of those super niched areas. However, if you are dedicated to chasing the shot, and that’s where your passion is, give it a try!

10. Travel Photography

Saved the best for last!

And by the best I mean my favourite. Travel photography is one of the things I love the most about photography, about travel, and about life in general. In a way, it is what got me into photography, to begin with. But many years ago I kinda accepted that in order to shoot what I like how I like when I travel, I had to keep that kind of photography as a personal project.

When I think of travel photography, I think of photojournalism and reportage, but that’s not necessarily exclusively the only thing that can be considered travel photography (ahem, I’m talking about you influencers).

Nonetheless, there are definitely ways to make money in travel photography, and the thing is, that can include basically any type of photography listed above, only in a different location.mAn important note to make is that working while traveling can be challenging when it comes to legalities and laws. Make sure you know what the rules are and stick to them (or break them at your own risk).

C. BONUS TIP: We live in a visual world, start looking around

The lists above are meant to not only give you some insight into what being a working photographer looks like and how to make money as a photographer but to show you that no matter what kind of photos you like to take, there is someone out there needing or wanting those images.

Every single person you meet is a potential client.

Every single business you see has a need for images one way or another.

Start paying attention everywhere you go, and you will notice photos. Start wondering where are those images coming from, and maybe even ask. Chances are, a lot of big corporations are not shooting locally, but you would be surprised how many are franchises, small locally owned businesses, and even maybe people you know. Start having conversations about your photography with everyone, you never know who is looking to hire someone, and more often than not, people are inclined to hire someone they know that might have less experience, than someone they don’t know but has a big rep – this is an important thing to keep in mind when building your income strategy and figuring out how to make money as a photographer.

Every local business is going online these days, so I bet your favourite clothing store, or even your favourite restaurant might need some photos for their online platform… Start thinking about everyone you know as a potential business opportunity and you will be surprised!

And if you are not feeling confident enough to put yourself out there and charge quite yet, use this as an opportunity to build a portfolio. If you are reaching out to friends, family, or other potential clients and offer to shoot for them for free, they have nothing to lose and most likely will be happy to give you a chance to practice, and even get some great photos out of it! This will take the pressure off for you to start getting familiar with what it would be like to run a client shoot, build a portfolio, and start networking!

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